Battling Academic Burnout
11:59 PM deadlines do not scare me anymore. At this point, academic burnout seems inevitable. As a high school senior applying to college in the middle of a global pandemic, motivation is scarce. With quarantine isolation, seasonal depression, and senioritis weighing down on me, I find it more difficult to remain engaged in class. Each day becomes a repetitive nightmare. Sitting in front of a computer screen for nearly 6 hours straight with Zoom class after Zoom class seems like a special place in hell made just for Gen Z kids.
Apathy has set in. Not just for students, but also for the teachers as well. In the early days of the pandemic, positivity was just as contagious as Corona. Teachers would spend time making personal video lessons or online interactive activities. Students would band together with drive-by school spirit celebrations or funny class video montages. However, as the pandemic raged on, I noticed more and more people lose their spark. The once shining smiles that would glow through the computer screen seem to have dulled. They have now been replaced with blank screens and muted mics.
In this virtual school environment, solving derivatives or analyzing Hemingway fails to keep me engaged when all the learning is done over the computer. Even though I try to maintain good grades and focus in class, each new assignment and assessment just becomes an added burden to an already overly cluttered to-do list. During these moments, I miss days when I used to look forward to racing through the hallways to get to English class early or staying after the period ended to receive extra help in Math class.
With the future being so uncertain, I can’t help but ask, “What’s the point?” The prospects of having a normal senior year of high school or even freshman year of college seem unlikely. After a long and arduous academic journey, I have made it to the end with little hope left to carry me through the year. The nerdy, book-loving freshmen I was would have never expected to find me here. Because of this realization, I decided I must battle this academic burnout.
Although normalcy may not return for a while, discovering ways to reinvigorate my academic interests mitigates the lack of motivation. Rather than stare at a ceiling or refresh my college portal every 30 minutes, I take bits and pieces of interesting information from a class and explore on my own. This tactic not only assists my performance in class, but also allows me to merge my academic interests with my personal interests in this bizarre yet effective synthesis of knowledge. Sometimes I end up taking a deep dive into the Internet, learning strange facts about The Handmaid’s Tale or discovering calculus symbols that look like hieroglyphics.
To escape the academic realm, I have found that reconnecting with old hobbies provides the ideal break. Oftentimes, I resort to therapeutic middle school pastimes like reading novels late at night, writing poetry out on my front porch, or baking an exuberant amount of cookies as a means of re-energizing myself for the next school day. Even though I sometimes have an issue finding the time, I make it a point to carve out a small portion of my day to dedicate towards miscellaneous recreational activities. These brief moments of relaxation break through the mundane monotony of the school day and remind me to feel less guilty about enjoying personal time.
Sometimes this personal time is best spent with another person—virtually, of course. Each day I make sure to call at least one of my friends to remind myself of the beauty of human interaction. Whether it's a goofy or philosophical conversation, I enjoy having the opportunity to engage in a wholesome exchange of words. In essence, I feel less alone. We share all our thoughts, worries, and dreams right through the phone screen. After 4 hours of talking and giggling well into the night, my spirit gains solace in knowing that a good conversation never fails to restore my faith in humanity and myself.
Yet, I suppose the most difficult part of all is finding the energy to re-energize yourself. This paradox often prevents people from escaping academic burnout. However, I will admit that as cliché as it may sound, appreciating the little things in life gives you something to look forward to each day. Whether you research the life story of an estranged author, revisit your old love of YA dystopian novels, or stay up till 3 AM to talk on the phone, I can assure you that your spark will one day return.